Silver Salamander Press, USA, 1998, no ISBN
Salt Snake and Other Bloody Cuts is reviewed by John B. Ford
This is a book I've been eagerly waiting to get my hands on, the controversy over the front cover causing its release to be delayed quite a while. With twenty five stories printed in this collection, Sa1t Snake will be very warmly welcomed by the fast-growing multitude of Simon Clark fans, neatly packaging together some excellent examples of this prolific author's flexibility, influences, and even personal modes of thought.
Clark uses many different methods to present his short fiction; he's just as much at home with beautifully written atmospheric tales set in mysterious Welsh surroundings, as he is with spilling a little blood in a modern-day shocker. Stories such as "Acorns – A Bitter Substitute for Olives" and "Swallowing a Dirty Seed" are an obvious nod to the writings of Arthur Machen, and yet they also function as much more than tributes: they very accurately convey the type of fiction that Machen would have created had he been born into our own era.
I've noticed much of Clark's work is almost unique in the treatment of its readers; many of these tales seem to decisively attack the imagination from the very onset, they grab the attention of the readers and pull no punches, powerfully telling it how it is... too bad if anyone out there is a little faint-hearted! Visual imagery is a very effective tool in his array of hard-hitting weapons, brilliantly used to great effect in such stories as "The Grave Digger's Tale" and "The Burning Doorway": the macabre image of burning corpses awakening within the scorching flames of a crematorium is one that haunted me for a very long time after I'd finished reading this tale.
The title story of the book is a particularly strong piece, and clearly displays the author's absolute delight in setting up and then savagely punishing the villains of this tale. It almost appears that Clark is ridding himself of some inner anger, perhaps making use of his trade to exorcize some past demon of his memory? Another story which very much sticks up for the underdog is "A Biter Bit". This clearly paints the bullies in life as the cowards they usually turn out to be, and the reader is skilfully manipulated into feeling a sense of satisfaction and elation when the villains finally get their come-uppance.
Perhaps the most bizarre story in all the book is "Gerassimos Flamotas". This tale of a poor peasant giving up his daughter for financial gain, to some supernatural entity of the sea, is a lesson to us all that love is a much more valuable thing than money can ever be. The grotesque imagery and sense of sadness when the peasant receives back the horribly reconstructed (but still living!) body of his daughter, is delivered with a touch of pure genius.
Like most writers, Clark often puts aspects of his own character into his fiction, and by studying these stories we can, perhaps, uncover certain clues to the workings of his mind. On more than one occasion l've noticed his references to rock music, almost as though he would have loved to have been involved in that business himself. The story "Howls from a Blinding Curve" is probably the greatest illustration of this theory; oh, and wasn't there once some kind of rumour about him writing Iyrics for U2? I for one am very glad that Simon hasn't been blessed with more hair – I think there's a chance we may have lost one of our greatest writers to some rock band or other!
Another story which I strongly suspect carries an autobiographical theme is "Man in Danger – A Video Self-Portrait". This piece plays on the fears of a new writer, a man who desperately wants to be successful as an author, to the extent of giving up his secure job. It's at this stage when a new author will often ponder on what the coming years hold, almost to the extent that they become haunted by their own future. This is one of the cleverest stories in the book, and I can tell you from my own experience that it perfectly sums up the fears and hopes of any ambitious writer.
In summing up Salt Snake I can promise you that it provides twenty five stories that will grip your mind and terrorize you with the highest grade of expertly crafted horror fiction. These are stories you can read time and time again without them losing any of their incredible potency, and rightfully they deserve a prominent position upon the bookshelf of any serious horror fan. But perhaps more valuable still is the insight they can provide us into the mind of this friendly and charming, but very enigmatic author. Silver Salamander Press should be congratulated for giving us access to this body of most intriguing and important fiction.
John B. Ford's collection Dead Things is forthcoming from Indigo Publications.